Fast Download Speeds, Slow/Inconsistent Upload Speeds

[Rand118]

Hi all,

My first time posting here because I'm at my wit's end with my ISP! I'm a live streamer on twitch.tv, so every time I lose upload speed, my stream drops frames and/or shuts down completely, so I'm losing revenue and stream time because of inconsistent internet. I'm mainly concerned with Upload speed because of how dependent my streaming is on that one variable, and that's what I've been having trouble with. Here are my specs:

1. ISP - Spectrum (Formerly Time Warner Cable)
2. Advertised Speed - 300-400Mbps Download, 20 Mbps Upload
3. Actual speed - Usually 400-480 Download (faster than advertised), Upload is anywhere from .6-21Mbps (but has been consistently below 5Mbps in the last 2-5 months)
4. TCP/IP Analyzer (Not sure what this is, but this is what the speedguide link brought up)

« SpeedGuide.net TCP Analyzer Results »
Tested on: 2019.12.25 20:13
IP address: 70.123.xxx.xxx
Client OS/browser: Windows 10 (Chrome 79.0.3945.88)

TCP options string: 020405b40103030801010402
MSS: 1460
MTU: 1500
TCP Window: 262656 (not multiple of MSS)
RWIN Scaling: 8 bits (2^8=256)
Unscaled RWIN : 1026
Recommended RWINs: 64240, 128480, 256960, 513920, 1027840
BDP limit (200ms): 10506kbps (1313KBytes/s)
BDP limit (500ms): 4202kbps (525KBytes/s)
MTU Discovery: ON
TTL: 115
Timestamps: OFF
SACKs: ON
IP ToS: 00000000 (0)

5. Modem/Router brands: Both are from Spectrum, Modem says it's from Hitron Technologies, E31B2V1; Router just says SpectrumSetup-53 on the back
The modem and router have both been replaced multiple times by Spectrum internet techs, and I believe this is the best/latest hardware they provide
6. Operating System- Windows 64 bit

I've had Spectrum techs come out to my apartment complex 4-6 times in the last 6 months replacing hardware and running speed tests. Most recently, they installed a new dedicated wall cable outlet to my apartment unit to guarantee I'm not having bandwidth split off to other tenants. I've had twitch viewers recommend I run WinMTR to trace packet loss, so I have a text file with results from those tests. I also have a CSV file showing the speed test results from the past month, showing my Upload speed vary (even on the same day) anywhere from .6 Mbps to 26 Mbps. I'm happy to share those files, although I'm not sure if I can post them on this thread. Here's a short excerpt showing results from today's speed tests:

Date Time Latency Download Upload

Dec/25/2019 19:37 18.1 192.6251 5.983344
Dec/25/2019 19:35 14.46 204.8229 2.66424
Dec/25/2019 19:31 17.741 484.5431 0.6148
Dec/25/2019 19:28 16.981 490.6281 1.529208
Dec/25/2019 16:06 17.262 481.8421 20.80713

As you can see, just today, my upload speed went from max advertised to non-existent in the space of a few hours. What can I do?!?

Any help is greatly appreciated! I stream 20-35 hours a week, and am losing significant revenue because of my ISP issues.

Thanks,

Ryan.

[Philip]

I am not familiar with this modem, is that cable modem, DSL or what? Assuming it is a cable modem, what are the signal levels?

Check this FAQ: https://www.speedguide.net/faq/what-...idered-good-78

If your upstream power is high, or if there are splitters/noise on the line to your modem you may have issues with the line quality. It could also be caused by your neighbors, since you are sharing the available bandwidth even if there is a separate line from your apartment to the tap. I would start with the part that you can control, i.e. check the modem signal levels. Also, keep the modem/router at least a foot away from possible sources of EMI (other routers, power supplies, fluorescent lights, etc.)

[Rand118]

Thanks for the reply Philip! It's a cable modem supplied by Spectrum. I read through your link and I'm not sure how to check my Upstream/Downstream/Signal/noise ratios. When I google how to check those, it says to get into the cable modem settings by entering http://192.168.100.1, but that address times out for me. It's been a while since I've connected directly to a modem to change settings before, and I've never done that since they replaced this modem, is there another way to check upstream power/etc.?

[Philip]

Open command prompt (type cmd in search), and type: ipconfig

Look for the line that says "Default Gateway", this is the IP address of your gateway device, i.e. router/modem. Usually that is the IP address that you need to type in the address bar of your web browser to connect to it. It will probably require a username/password to login, the username is most often "admin", the password may be on a sticker on the modem itself.

[Rand118]

I promise I'm not usually this inept with computer stuff! However...when I type ipconfig, I get these 2 things under default gateway: fe80::c8b4:22ff:fe77:2c53%11 192.168.1.1. The 192.168.1.1 goes to my basic router settings, and the other number goes nowhere. I try to plug my cable modem directly into my pc, and get no connection. I'm starting to get the feeling this equipment they gave me is NOT the best quality. Am I missing something in accessing my modem settings?

[Philip]

It is fine to ask questions, you are on the right track.

So then, you have a secondary NAT router that is at 192.168.1.1. If you connect to that router's admin interface, it may indicate what the IP of the cable modem is.

If you want to connect your client PC to your cable modem directly, you would have to reboot BOTH your cable modem and your computer. The modem will only accept new client after reboot. You can then try to find its default IP.

The 192.168.100.1 address is usually default for Arris/Motorola cable modems. Hitron routers often use 192.168.0.1, not sure about your particular model. You may have to be in the same subnet to connect to the IP of the cable modem, this would be easiest if you connect directly to it with your client PC, and let it assign you an IP address via DHCP automatically.

[Rand118]

It looks like my cable modem's Default Gateway is 76.184.80.1. However, when I try to connect through chrome using that address, I still get a "This site can't be reached, 76.184.80.1 took too long to respond" message. I connected my laptop directly to the cable modem and reset both to get them to connect, used the command prompt with "ipconfig" to get that address, and this is the message it gave me. Not sure what else to try to get into the cable modem's settings to check the levels you're looking for.

As an aside, today I streamed for about 6 hours and my connection continued to fluctuate between 2mbps-20mbps. I'm not sure if upstream power would cause fluctuations like that, or if I'm just having bad luck with Spectrum's bandwidth/signal being inconsistent. Let me know if there's something else I can do to try and access my modem's settings/power levels. I've been thinking of ordering a new modem of my own to see if better equipment would give me better results. I just fear that if I do that and it's a bad signal (or some other issue), I'd be wasting money.

[Philip]

76.184.80.1 is an external IP address. Most current modems act as NAT routers as well, so they'd have both an external IP onto the Internet, and an "internal" LAN IP address only routable locally to you, that you use to get to the admin/status pages.

However, seems Spectrum and a few other ISPs are blocking out users out of those status pages, you may be out of luck trying to reach it. The only way to get the power levels would be if you ask a technician that is at your location. You can try eliminating any splitters and possible sources of EMI, but that's about it. If your ISP is providing a bad oversubscribed feed, there is very little else you can do on your end.

Some people have been able to login to another version of this modem (E31U2V1) by holding the reset button for 10 seconds (until it flashes), then navigating to 192.168.0.1 (your client PC has to be in the same 192.168.0.x subnet).

[Rand118]

Yeah, I tried to reset the modem and then navigate to 192.168.0.1, but I'm still not able to access it (not sure if my PC is in the same subnet). It looks like I'm just kinda out of luck with my inconsistent upload speed. I was pretty sure there was nothing else I could do on my end, and the ISP is just blowing smoke when they tell me "everything's fine on our end, we'll send a tech out." One final question: Would it be at all productive to try and contact someone higher up in a company like Spectrum (supervisor of the internet techs, network manager, etc.) and show them the result history of my speed tests? The results show a clear picture of upload speed ranging from .6Mbps-22Mbps on different days, often within hours of each other. I would assume I would continue to get answers like "we don't guarantee speeds" or "user traffic in your area will cause varying speeds." It just feels like such a ripoff to get such inconsistent service. If I got cell phone reception as inconsistent as that, I feel like I should get refunds or apologies from a company, not "that's what you get, sucks to be you." All my EU viewers on Twitch can't believe the crappy ISP service/issues I have to deal with on a daily basis. Have you (or others you know) ever had positive experiences showing internet companies how spotty/inconsistent their service is?

[CyberExpert]

Yeah, I tried to reset the modem and then navigate to 192.168.0.1, but I'm still not able to access it (not sure if my PC is in the same subnet). It looks like I'm just kinda out of luck with my inconsistent upload speed. I was pretty sure there was nothing else I could do on my end, and the ISP is just blowing smoke when they tell me "everything's fine on our end, we'll send a tech out." One final question: Would it be at all productive to try and contact someone higher up in a company like Spectrum (supervisor of the internet techs, network manager, etc.) and show them the result history of my speed tests? The results show a clear picture of upload speed ranging from .6Mbps-22Mbps on different days, often within hours of each other. I would assume I would continue to get answers like "we don't guarantee speeds" or "user traffic in your area will cause varying speeds." It just feels like such a ripoff to get such inconsistent service. If I got cell phone reception as inconsistent as that, I feel like I should get refunds or apologies from a company, not "that's what you get, sucks to be you." All my EU viewers on Twitch can't believe the crappy ISP service/issues I have to deal with on a daily basis. Have you (or others you know) ever had positive experiences showing internet companies how spotty/inconsistent their service is?

Rand118,

Sounds like you are experiencing typical fluctuation upload speeds with a cable provider (Spectrum). Cable speeds tend to fluctuate since your connection is shared and not guaranteed while fiber optic providers (AT&T, Verizon/Frontier, etc) are mostly consistent except during peak hours/internet congestion. Do you have any other providers available in your area? If you only have spectrum, I would consider another option that could be faster especially for upload speeds like T-Mobile's Home Internet service (if available and strong reception area). Spectrum kept slowing me down for downloads and uploads even with their provided equipment. I switched to AT&T Fiber and speeds are consistently fast. Another option would be to grab an AX router and set it up with your Spectrum modem. These high end routers are able to help out with routing your connection internally and externally at a more fast and reliable connection. Walmart has one by TP-Link AX3000 for like $130 which is cheaper and faster than most routers today. I have the TP-Link AX6000 router and it keeps my connection blazing fast. I hope this helps!

CyberExpert

[Philip]

Thanks for chiming in CyberExpert. Good advice, except I am not sure a $130 Cable modem will fix much, the only thing that it may help with is showing you the signal levels, if Spectrum supports that model at all. There are cable modems you can pickup for $60 at Walmart and Best Buy.

Other than that, sometimes talking to level 2 support, or a supervisor gets them to examine your connection issues closer, they can look at the trunk, node in your area, etc. but it won't be easy to make them do anything about it.